If talking about a generation, there are four
generations in our lives. The first generation was the generation of seniors
who are the generation with the birth before the independence of Indonesia,
1945. It can be said the senior generation to be at least equal to the day of
independence. They are the generation most conservative and certainly still has
not been contaminated by the environment that are negative.
The second generation is a generation of Baby Boomers
(1946-1964). This generation was born with motivated by a high birth rate after
the Second World War. This generation began to adapt to the environment that
has experienced unseasonably rock and roll, knows TV, demonstrations, can
distinguish their race each, etc.
The third generation is Generation X (1964-1976). This
generation is able to 'survive' between the two generations before and after
different characters. Icon that carried the generation X is the 'I'. The
dominant culture is pop culture and the explosion of great information.
Last is the generation Y (1977-present). Can be said
of this generation as the generation that succeeded in creating a
'breakthrough' in various fields. This generation has increased in integrity,
grew up in the era of unity, optimism, and the era of recycling. Additionally
response to new ideas motivated by philosophy, experience, multi-generation
messaging can happen very quickly.
Every generation has its own attitudes, values and
even quirks consider, for example, how different Baby Boomers are from their
parents’ generation. No one disputes that the Boomers largely revolted against
the morally conservative upbringing of the previous generation. By doing this,
Boomers created their own set of values that eventually dominated the culture,
including feminism, looser sexual mores and anti-war sentiment. Although the
Boomers are one of the more stark examples of generational change, most
generations do this to some extent. And the most recent generation to get its
own name, the Millennial Generation, is no different.
The large discrepancy in dates is because when it
comes to defining a generation, the boundaries are quite fluid. It’s never the
case that a switch is thrown and all new babies born afterward suddenly change
their characteristics.
The most significant difference between generations X
and Y are that X kids are often thought of as the abandoned generation – raised
at a time when both parents had to enter the workforce leaving their “latchkey
kids” to fend for themselves – while Gen Y’ers are considered the most parented
generation in history.
Jamie Gutfreund of the Intelligence Group spends a
great deal of time examining the differing motivations and preferences of the
generations. Geutfreund (herself a member of Generation X) says it’s important
to bear in mind that Xers were culturally different from the Baby Boom
Generation that preceded them.
“Generation Y was raised with different perspective,”
she says. “Their Boomer parents taught them that their opinions are important.
So they have an expectation to have a stake in outcomes.”
The members of
Generation Y perhaps like all the generations to come before them, are a mosaic
if traits that often seen incompatible. Perhaps chief among these is their
unceasing optimism despite the fact that they grew up at a time when students
were gunning down other students and terrorist were crashing planes in
buildings. But it seems that instead of making them fearful and introverted,
this has imbued Gen Y’ers with a marked positivity. This seems to come from the
philosophy that practically anything can happen in life, so you should enjoy
the moment while you can. They hardly read. They watch play computer games. Watch
movies on the internet, have made YouTube their favorite destination.
This generation is the one that will redefine
learning. And because of them book-based learning, lectures, stand-up teaching,
grades, honor rolls, and all the other paraphernalia of the 20th century
will fade away faster than we image.
Gen Y does everything virtually and has no idea where
to buy a postage stamp. They communicate in real time, send out instant
messages to ask for help, learn from each other informally over the internet
and in this behavior, they are defining what learning will look like.
There some several characteristics of the Gen Y
(Millennial Generation)
-
Special: they may carry a sense of entitlement about them and have an
expectation of frequent positive feedback.
-
Sheltered: they were rarely left unsupervised. They were sheltered from
having to take care of their own conflicts as parents advocated on their
behalf, and “spared” them from unpleasant experiences.
-
Confident: they have high levels of optimism and they feel connected to
their parents. They are assertive and believe they are “right”.
-
Team-Oriented: they are group oriented rather than being individualists.
They may sacrifice their own identity to be part of the team.
-
Achieving: the focus on getting good grades, hard work, and involvement
in extracurricular activities, etc.is resulting in higher achievement levels.
-
Pressured: they may struggle with handling free time and time management
in general. They feel pressured to succeed. They’ve been pushed hard to
achieve, to avoid risk, and to take advantages of opportunities.
-
Conventional: they are civic-minded and believe the government know
what’s best and will take care of them. Their clothing, music, and cultural
markings will be very mainstream. (Resources by Neil Howe and William Strauss,
2003).
Gen Y is being shaped by digital technology,
transforming the human brain and the way we think. One authority believes that
the human brain’s digital input has rewired it, helping it to respond faster,
sift out information, and recall less (Woods 2006). The sheer mass of visual,
auditory, and verbal information in today’s world is forcing digital natives to
edit, sift, and filter more. For example, the brevity of text messaging has
spread to e-mail and other communications, rewriting English with simpler spelling
and symbols. In addition, Gen Y processes information in narrative images, with
text supplemented or even supplanted by symbols and.
Today’s students have grown up with the speed of video games and MTV.
They have little patience for lectures, step-by-step instruction or thinking,
or traditional testing. Compared to their experiences with digital technology,
they find traditional teaching methods dull.
The way in which Gen Y learns has been called “mediated immersion”
(Oblinger and Oblinger 2005). It is characterized by greater fluency in media
use, more collective sharing and learning, and a cooperative design of learning
experiences. Gen Y wants lectures and other face-to-face teaching supplemented
with material and activities online. It also wants more learning in realistic
contexts as well as simulated environments and the use of more non-linear texts
(Mills and Sharma 2005).
Despite the relentless focus on technology, it is not really what is
important: it is the educational and social implications of the technology.
Therefore, as students become increasingly physically isolated as well as
demanding of and dependent upon technology, university administrations may need
to consider selecting faculty for their empathy and guidance skills as much as
for their content expertise. Such characteristics are, after all, those of the
teachers we remember.
References:
Rasawulan Sari awiduri, Generasi manakah yang anda
inginkan: Senior, Baby Boomers, X atau Y?, 26 Juni 2015, Kompasiana
m.kompasiana.com/rasawulansariwiduri/
Mills, D., and M. Sharma. 2005. Learning Outcomes and
Curriculum Development in Physics: A Report on Tertiary Physics Learning and
Teaching in Australia Commissioned by the Australian Universities Teaching
Committee. Retrieved March 2, 2008, from
<http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/super/AuTC/autc/>.
Oblinger, D. G., and J. L. Oblinger, eds. 2005.
Educating the Net Generation. The Netherlands: Delft university of Technology.
Retrieved March 14, 2008, from <http://www.educause.edu/educatingthenetgen>.
futureoftalent.org/gen-learns-means-education
Resource: Millennials
Go To College (2003) by Neil Howe and William Strauss. Website: www.lifecourse.com
Woods, R. 2006. “The Next Step in Brain Evolution.”
Sunday Times (London). July 9, Features: Culture, 8.
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